Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All –

I’ll try to keep this short. I have a 17 yr old cat (yes, 17 – that is not a typo ) who I started feeding canned food about 9 – 10 months ago when I noticed she was losing weight, I thought she may not be eating enough as dry food may have been hurting her teeth. At first she would eat the food – then she started just licking the gravy off. I also noticed she would drink a lot of water and drag her bowl around the kitchen.

About four or five months ago I took her to the vet just for a routine checkup – the vet gave her a clean bill of health – no thyroid problems – only slight problem was her kidney function level is just slightly down and the vet said at that age it was to be expected. The vet was very impressed with her health and age. We asked about food and he said at that age feed her whatever she wants.

I kept her on the canned food until a couple of weeks after the vet visit she got the runs really bad – I mean three to four times a day I was cleaning up what didn’t make the litter box. After doing some research online about elderly cats and diet I decided to try the raw food – except I cook the meat and mix it with brown rice.

At first she would eat it all and I thought problem solved. Now she’s at the point where she is interested in what I cook for a day or two then turns her nose up at it. I have tried chicken, turkey and beef – she eats really well for a day or two then quits. She will treat dry food the same – eat on that for a day or two then quit. All she wants now is NutriCal and water – and she is still dragging her water bowl all around the kitchen.

She will also fall asleep with her head resting on the side of the water bowl. She will spend the day there only moving to go to her food bowl. Also - I mix in Missing Link with her food for supplements.

Anyone have any suggestions – I’m really at a loss on what she will eat. Currently I have three different dry foods – of good quality – and she won’t eat any of them. My other two cats have no problem eating that so it’s not going to waste.

Thanks
SqrlGrl

Hi There,

Even though your cat had bloodwork done 4-5 months ago, I would have the blood panel repeated. Also a urinalysis, because you don't get the full picture of kidney function with a blood panel alone. What you want to find out is if the urine is concentrated or dilute. Concentrated is good. As the kidney function decreases, the urine becomes more and more dilute.

I find it disturbing that your kitty will only eat Nutrical and spends her day with her head resting on her water bowl. It sounds like something is not right. Not to scare you, but she may have more advanced kidney disease at this point. Kidney disease in cats is almost always progressive, unfortunately.

You can try feeding her strained meat baby food (with no onion added). Sometimes ill cats will eat baby food before they will eat anything else. But I would want to try to find out what is causing her lack of appetite. Chances are that it is something treatable. You don't want your kitty to go for too many days without eating, as she will be prone to liver problems.

Please keep us updated on how your baby does.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Hello PHKitkat -

Here is an update - I did get some 1st Stage Baby food - beef and gravy and cooked her up some chicken and used the baby food to "gravy it up". The main problem is she is holding out for canned food - yet that gives her the runs. I do see her eating dry food from time to time - but she really wants the canned food.

So far so good - she loves the baby food and actaully ate all her chicken this morning. She will lick all the "gravy" off the chicken and over the course of a couple of hours keep visiting the chicken until it is all gone. Hopefully the baby food will keep her eating and she won't turn finicky again.

And all of this odd behavior - her eating habits and hanging out by the water bowl - was going on before I took her to the vet. And with the water - it's not that she is drinking a lot - she just wants to stay by the bowl. I work out of the home so I am able to monitor how much she is eating and drinking. So far today - she ate all her breakfast.

Thanks
Kecia

Hi There,

Thanks so much for the update. It's great to hear that your baby is doing well!

Take care,
PHKitkat